"Australia was the first country in the world to have a complete system of bank notes made from plastic (polymer)...

Australia’s notes are printed by Note Printing Australia, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of Australia. Note Printing Australia prints polymer notes for a growing number of other countries including Bangladesh, Brunei, Chile, Indonesia, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Romania, Western Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. Many other countries are showing a strong interest in the new technology...

In 1988, Australia introduced its first polymer bank note and in 1996, Australia became the first country in the world to have a complete series of polymer notes."http://www.dfat.gov.au/facts/currency.html

Video from that time:http://www.rba.gov.au/banknotes/types/polymer-notes.html